So, very busy puttering around today while getting things ready for the 'do tonight, but I was reminded of my promise to blog about a rather hilarious meal I prepared with my good friends Gabe and Jason a few weeks back.
Gabe and Jason, like the majority of my friends, are tireless world-travelers who live for experiencing new cultures, foods and ideas. One night, while at their gorgeous apartment on the Upper West Side, I spied in their kitchen a little box piled high with foods-in-a-tube: mayonnaises, mustards, purees of tomato, ginger, horseradish and hungarian smoked peppers. I clapped my hands and called out to Gabe, enquiring about his collection, since I myself am a fanatic about foods-in-a-tube. In general, Americans don't get their condiments in this form, but in Europe, it is very common. And since I've lived half my life (and still live half of every year) in Europe, I swear by these handy and economical little containers for measuring out just the right amount of what you need for a sandwich, salad or recipe. They're neater and less fussy to use than plastic or glass jars. And the tubes are almost always recyclable. Best of all, they are usually designed well, with eye-catching typography and imagery so that the casual shopper will easily recognize what's inside. They are most prevalent in the countries of Northern and Central Europe, but just about every country has some claim on food-in-a-tube. I get very homesick for my house in Amsterdam when I see them.
So as I began squealing about the condiments, Gabe launched into his fervent acclaim for food-in-a-tube too. We agreed that not only do these tubes often feature hard-to-find pastes and sauces (Hungary, where Gabe's family comes from, seems to have the most interesting combinations like horseradish mustard, garlic mayonnaise with horseradish, sweet smoked pepper paste and spicy smoked peppers pastes, etc.), they serve as great souvenirs and gifts. Gabe was hoarding his collection of these little babies partly out of sentiment for the travel memories and partly for aesthetic/design reasons; they DO look fabulous. But they looked surprisingly pristine, and I asked if he actually cooked with them. When he mentioned that he always kept one tube for use, and one for decor, I laughed and off-handedly suggested constructing a dinner party that consisted of dishes prepared with every single tube in his collection.
He roared his approval. Within a few minutes, I had the basic menu. We planned the party for a few weeks after its conception, and here's what we ate:
Starters: Deviled Quail Eggs (Tubes featured: Half made with Kalles Cod Roe Caviar Paste; the other half made with Hungarian horseradish mustard)
First Course: Chourico and Pepper Stew with Asiago Cheese Toast Points (Tubes featured: The sausage and pepper stew was prepared with Hungarian sweet smoked pepper paste and Hungarian garlic paste; the Asiago cheese toasts were prepared with a tube of garlic aioli.
Second Course: Spinach and Feta Torta (Tubes featured: Garlic paste and mustard)
Third Course: Roast Chicken with Roquefort Mashed Potatoes (Tubes featured: The chicken was marinaded and coated in spicy smoked pepper paste; the Roquefort mashed potatoes featured the garlic paste)
Fourth Course: Brussels Sprout Etoufee (Tubes featured: The stew featured garlic and horseradish pastes. This course was kindly prepared by our friend Chris, a vegetarian among us omnivores)
Dessert: Ginger Cake (Tubes featured: This unbelievably moist, rich cake was prepared by Gabe's friend Schelley who used ginger puree in a tube).
The dinner was excellent fun. Check out the photos:
We've only just started to consider our next dinner party concept. If you've got ideas, send them in!
Tomorrow (if I'm still conscious), party pix...
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